Vocabulary

Question 1

abase

Answer 1

abase
(v.)
to humiliate, degrade
(After being overthrown and abased, the deposed
leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)

Question 2

abate

Answer 2

abate
(v.)
to reduce, lessen
(The rain poured down for a while, then abated.)

Question 3

aberration

Answer 3

aberration
(n.)
something that differs from the norm
(In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox
have not won a World Series since.)

Question 4

abject

Answer 4

abject
(adj.)
wretched, pitiful
(After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and
breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.)

Question 5

abjure

Answer 5

abjure
(v.)
to reject, renounce
(To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil
policies of his wicked predecessor.)

Question 6

abnegation

Answer 6

abnegation
(n.)
denial of comfort to oneself
(The holy man slept on the floor, took only
cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation.)

Question 7

abridge

Answer 7

abridge
1.
(v.)
to cut down, shorten
(The publisher thought the dictionary was too long
and abridged it.)
2.
(adj.)
shortened
(Moby-Dick is such a long book that even the
abridged version is longer than most normal books.)

Question 8

abrogate

Answer 8

abrogate
(v.)
to abolish, usually by authority
(The Bill of Rights assures that the
government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

Question 9

abscond

Answer 9

abscond
(v.)
to sneak away and hide
(In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the
night with the secret plans.)

Question 10

abstruse

Answer 10

abstruse
(adj.)
hard to comprehend
(Everyone else in the class understood geometry
easily, but John found the subject abstruse.)

Question 11

accede

Answer 11

accede
(v.)
to agree
(When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball
instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to
their request.)

Question 12

accolade

Answer 12

accolade
(n.)
high praise, special distinction
(Everyone offered accolades to Sam after
he won the Noble Prize.)

Question 13

accost

Answer 13

accost
(v.)
to confront verbally
(Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted
the man.)

Question 14

accretion

Answer 14

accretion
(n.)
slow growth in size or amount
(Stalactites are formed by the accretion of
minerals from the roofs of caves.)

Question 15

acerbic

Answer 15

acerbic
(adj.)
biting, bitter in tone or taste
(Jill became extremely acerbic and began to
cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

Question 16

acquiesce

Answer 16

acquiesce
(v.)
to agree without protesting
(Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner,
he acquiesced to her demands.)

Question 17

acrimony

Answer 17

acrimony
(n.)
bitterness, discord
(Though they vowed that no girl would ever come
between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their
friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

Question 18

acumen

Answer 18

acumen
(n.)
keen insight
(Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure
out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

Question 19

adroit

Answer 19

adroit
(adj.)
skillful, dexterous
(The adroit thief could pick someone’s pocket without
attracting notice.)

Question 20

adulation

Answer 20

adulation
(n.)
extreme praise
(Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe
it deserved the adulation it received.)

Question 21

adumbrate

Answer 21

adumbrate
(v.)
to sketch out in a vague way
(The coach adumbrated a game plan, but
none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

Question 22

affable

Answer 22

affable (adj.) friendly, amiable (People like to be around George because he is so affable
and good-natured.)

Question 23

affront

Answer 23

affront (n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his
honor.)

Question 24

aggrandize

Answer 24

aggrandize (v.) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the
famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.)

Question 25

aggregate

Answer 25

aggregate 1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly could.)

Question 26

aggrieved

Answer 26

aggrieved (adj.) distressed, wronged, injured (The foreman mercilessly overworked his aggrieved employees.)

Question 27

alacrity

Answer 27

alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)

Question 28

allay

Answer 28

allay (v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to allay investors’ fears about an economic downturn.)

Question 29

aloof

Answer 29

aloof (adj.) reserved, distant (The scientist could sometimes seem aloof, as if he didn’t care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics.)

Question 30

amalgamate

Answer 30

amalgamate (v.) to bring together, unite (Because of his great charisma, the presidential candidate was able to amalgamate all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

Question 31

ambiguous

Answer 31

ambiguous (adj.) uncertain, variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married Cleopatra for her power, others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual reasons are ambiguous.)

Question 32

ambivalent

Answer 32

ambivalent (adj.) having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are ambivalent because on one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is a cruel and vicious thief.)

Question 33

amorous

Answer 33

amorous (adj.) showing love, particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite amorous.)

Question 34

amorphous

Answer 34

amorphous (adj.) without definite shape or type (The effort was doomed from the start, because the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down.)

Question 35

anachronistic

Answer 35

anachronistic (adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you’re writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is anachronistic.)

Question 36

analgesic

Answer 36

analgesic (n.) something that reduces pain (Put this analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

Question 37

analogous

Answer 37

analogous (adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous.)

Question 38

anathema

Answer 38

anathema (n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.)

Question 39

anecdote

Answer 39

anecdote (n.) a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

Question 40

anomaly

Answer 40

anomaly (n.) something that does not fit into the normal order (“That rip in the spacetime continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly,” said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

Question 41

antagonism

Answer 41

antagonism (n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual antagonism, and often fought.)

Question 42

antediluvian

Answer 42

antediluvian (adj.) ancient (The antediluvian man still believed that Eisenhower was president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

Question 43

anthology

Answer 43

anthology (n.) a selected collection of writings, songs, etc. (The new anthology of Bob Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have heard before.)

Question 44

antipathy

Answer 44

antipathy (n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

Question 45

antiquated

Answer 45

antiquated (adj.) old, out of date (That antiquated car has none of the features, like power windows and steering, that make modern cars so great.)

Question 46

antithesis

Answer 46

antithesis (n.) the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the highest esteem, are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)

Question 47

apocryphal

Answer 47

apocryphal (adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

Question 48

approbation

Answer 48

approbation (n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

Question 49

arable

Answer 49

arable (adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on which he will grow corn and sprouts.)

Question 50

arbiter

Answer 50

arbiter (n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision (The divorce court judge will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)

Question 51

arbitrary

Answer 51

arbitrary (adj.) based on factors that appear random (The boy’s decision to choose one college over another seems arbitrary.)

Question 52

arbitration

Answer 52

arbitration (n.) the process or act of resolving a dispute (The employee sought official arbitration when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.)

Question 53

arboreal

Answer 53

arboreal (adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.)

Question 54

arcane

Answer 54

arcane (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Lithuanian literature.)

Question 55

archaic

Answer 55

archaic (adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

Question 56

archetypal

Answer 56

archetypal (adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature, was the archetypal politician.)

Question 57

ardor

Answer 57

ardor (n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their ardor with impassioned battle cries.)

Question 58

arid

Answer 58

arid (adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in arid environments.)

Question 59

arrogate

Answer 59

arrogate (v.) to take without justification (The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

Question 60

ascertain

Answer 60

ascertain (v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of research, the student ascertained that some plants can live for weeks without water.)

Question 61

ascetic

Answer 61

ascetic (adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

Question 62

ascribe

Answer 62

ascribe (v.) to assign, credit, attribute to (Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese.)

Question 63

aspersion

Answer 63

aspersion (n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each others’ integrity.)

Question 64

assail

Answer 64

assail (v.) to attack (At dawn, the war planes assailed the boats in the harbor.)

Question 65

assiduous

Answer 65

assiduous (adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

Question 66

assuage

Answer 66

assuage (v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.)

Question 67

astute

Answer 67

astute (adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger’s success in politics results from his ability to provide astute answers to reporters’ questions.)

Question 68

atrophy

Answer 68

atrophy (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die.)

Question 69

audacious

Answer 69

audacious (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan’s audacious attempt to offer him a bribe.)

Question 70

augment

Answer 70

augment (v.) to add to, expand (The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature.)

Question 71

auspicious

Answer 71

auspicious (adj.) favorable, indicative of good things (The tennis player considered the sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match.)

Question 72

austere

Answer 72

austere (adj.) very bare, bleak (The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made the place feel haunted.)

Question 73

avarice

Answer 73

avarice (n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.)

Question 74

balk

Answer 74

balk (v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss balked at her request for another raise.)

Question 75

banal

Answer 75

banal (adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.)

Question 76

bane

Answer 76

bane (n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students’ academic lives.)

Question 77

bard

Answer 77

bard (n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.)

Question 78

bashful

Answer 78

bashful (adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie’s mother told him not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party.)

Question 79

beguile

Answer 79

beguile (v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

Question 80

behemoth

Answer 80

behemoth (n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

Question 81

benign

Answer 81

benign (adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

Question 82

bequeath

Answer 82

bequeath (v.) to pass on, give (Jon’s father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.)

Question 83

berate

Answer 83

berate (v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

Question 84

bereft

Answer 84

bereft (adj.) devoid of, without (His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.)

Question 85

bilk

Answer 85

bilk (v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

Question 86

blandish

Answer 86

blandish (v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel’s assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

Question 87

blight

Answer 87

blight 1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)

Question 88

brusque

Answer 88

brusque (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain’s brusque manner offended the passengers.)

Question 89

buffet

Answer 89

buffet 1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

Question 90

burnish

Answer 90

burnish (v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.)

Question 91

buttress

Answer 91

buttress 1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

Question 92

cacophony

Answer 92

cacophony (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)

Question 93

cajole

Answer 93

cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)

Question 94

callous

Answer 94

callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

Question 95

calumny

Answer 95

calumny (n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies (The local official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election.)

Question 96

candor

Answer 96

candor (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech because he is usually rather evasive.)

Question 97

canny

Answer 97

canny (adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)

Question 98

capacious

Answer 98

capacious (adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office space.)

Question 99

capitulate

Answer 99

capitulate (v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly battle.)

Question 100

capricious

Answer 100

capricious (adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl’s capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

Question 101

carouse

Answer 101

carouse (v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)

Question 102

carp

Answer 102

carp (v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades.)

Question 103

caucus

Answer 103

caucus (n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

Question 104

caustic

Answer 104

caustic (adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate.)

Question 105

cavort

Answer 105

cavort (v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool.)

Question 106

censure

Answer 106

censure 1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother’s censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The principal censured the head of the English Department for forcing students to learn esoteric vocabulary.)

Question 107

cerebral

Answer 107

``` cerebral (adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral— they don’t engage my emotions at all.) ```

Question 108

chastise

Answer 108

chastise (v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)

Question 109

clairvoyant

Answer 109

clairvoyant (adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda’s uncanny ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant.)

Question 110

clandestine

Answer 110

clandestine (adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym, Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison.)

Question 111

cleave

Answer 111

cleave 1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader, the entire political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their marital problems, Junior and Rosa cleaved to one another all the more tightly.)

Question 112

cloying

Answer 112

cloying (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying.)

Question 113

coagulate

Answer 113

coagulate (v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick skin.)

Question 114

coalesce

Answer 114

coalesce (v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon’s ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced into a surprisingly handsome outfit.)

Question 115

cobbler

Answer 115

cobbler (n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes (I had my neighborhood cobbler replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.)

Question 116

coerce

Answer 116

coerce (v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

Question 117

cogent

Answer 117

cogent (adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene’s arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them.)

Question 118

cognizant

Answer 118

cognizant (adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment.)

Question 119

coherent

Answer 119

coherent (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)

Question 120

colloquial

Answer 120

colloquial (adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam’s essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions.)

Question 121

collusion

Answer 121

collusion (n.) secret agreement, conspiracy (The three law students worked in collusion to steal the final exam.)

Question 122

colossus

Answer 122

colossus (n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured a colossus standing astride its harbor.)

Question 123

combustion

Answer 123

combustion (n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected combustion of the prosecution’s evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez.)

Question 124

commensurate

Answer 124

commensurate (adj.) corresponding in size or amount (Ahab selected a very long roll and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous appetite.)

Question 125

commodious

Answer 125

commodious(adj.) roomy (Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat of the taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite commodious.) Same as CAPRICIOUS

Question 126

compunction

Answer 126

compunction (n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt compunction for the shabby way he’d treated her.)

Question 127

conciliatory

Answer 127

conciliatory (adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took Amanda’s invitation to dinner as a very conciliatory gesture.)

Question 128

concoct

Answer 128

concoct (v.) to fabricate, make up (She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.)

Question 129

concomitant

Answer 129

concomitant (adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.)

Question 130

concord

Answer 130

concord (n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect concord.)

Question 131

confidant

Answer 131

confidant (n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, she became my chief confidant.)

Question 132

conflagration

Answer 132

conflagration (n.) great fire (The conflagration consumed the entire building.)

Question 133

confluence

Answer 133

confluence (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)

Question 134

confound

Answer 134

confound (v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks.)

Question 135

congeal

Answer 135

congeal (v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had congealed into a thick paste.)

Question 136

congruity

Answer 136

congruity (n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect congruity of opinion.)

Question 137

connive

Answer 137

connive (v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans.)

Question 138

consonant

Answer 138

consonant (adj.) in harmony (The singers’ consonant voices were beautiful.)

Question 139

construe

Answer 139

construe (v.) to interpret (He construed her throwing his clothes out the window as a signal that she wanted him to leave.)

Question 140

contemporaneous

Answer 140

contemporaneous (adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not feature the themes of Romanticism, Jane Austen’s work was contemporaneous with that of Wordsworth and Byron.)

Question 141

contentious

Answer 141

contentious (adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George’s contentious personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

Question 142

contusion

Answer 142

contusion (n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on his face suggested he’d been in a fight.)

Question 143

convivial

Answer 143

convivial (adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment (The restaurant’s convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

Question 144

corpulence

Answer 144

corpulence (adj.)extreme fatness (Henry’s corpulence did not make him any less attractive to his charming, svelte wife.)

Question 145

corroborate

Answer 145

corroborate (v.) to support with evidence (Luke’s seemingly outrageous claim was corroborated by witnesses.)

Question 146

covet

Answer 146

covet (v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses’s house, wife, and car.)

Question 147

credulity

Answer 147

credulity (n.) readiness to believe (His credulity made him an easy target for con men.)

Question 148

culpable

Answer 148

culpable (adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable of the crime, and was sentenced to perform community service for 75 years.)

Question 149

cunning

Answer 149

cunning (adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to surprise the enemy.)

Question 150

cupidity

Answer 150

cupidity (n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.)

Question 151

cursory

Answer 151

cursory (adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at the agenda.)

Question 152

curt

Answer 152

curt (adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize that she was upset at me.)

Question 153

curtail

Answer 153

curtail (v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending.)

Question 154

dearth

Answer 154

dearth (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the library.)

Question 155

debacle

Answer 155

debacle (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

Question 156

debase

Answer 156

debase (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

Question 157

debauch

Answer 157

debauch (v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine and cheese debauched the traveler.)

Question 158

debunk

Answer 158

debunk (v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the world’s greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

Question 159

decorous

Answer 159

decorous (adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host.)

Question 160

decry

Answer 160

decry (v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees.)

Question 161

deface

Answer 161

deface (v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.)

Question 162

defamatory

Answer 162

defamatory (adj.) harmful toward another’s reputation (The defamatory gossip spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor’s new movie.)

Question 163

deferential

Answer 163

deferential (adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

Question 164

deft

Answer 164

deft (adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker.)

Question 165

defunct

Answer 165

defunct (adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse into a community center.)

Question 166

deleterious

Answer 166

deleterious (adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

Question 167

delineate

Answer 167

delineate (v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project’s funding.)

Question 168

demagogue

Answer 168

demagogue (n.) a leader who appeals to a people’s prejudices (The demagogue strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

Question 169

denigrate

Answer 169

denigrate (v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company’s competitors.)

Question 170

deplore

Answer 170

deplore (v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory.)

Question 171

depravity

Answer 171

depravity (n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre’s depravity made the children afraid to enter the forest.)

Question 172

deprecate

Answer 172

deprecate (v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local charity.)

Question 173

derelict

Answer 173

derelict (adj.) abandoned, run-down (Even though it was dangerous, the children enjoyed going to the deserted lot and playing in the derelict house.)

Question 174

deride

Answer 174

deride (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student’s accent.)

Question 175

desecrate

Answer 175

desecrate (v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the construction of a golf course would desecrate the preserved wilderness.)

Question 176

desiccated

Answer 176

desiccated (adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper.)

Question 177

despondent

Answer 177

despondent (adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless (Having failed the first math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that one too.)

Question 178

despot

Answer 178

despot (n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

Question 179

destitute

Answer 179

destitute (adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute.)

Question 180

deter

Answer 180

deter (v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob’s description of scary snakes couldn’t deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

Question 181

diaphanous

Answer 181

diaphanous (adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains, brightening the room.)

Question 182

diffident

Answer 182

diffident (adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating dinner with the adults, the diffident youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

Question 183

dilatory

Answer 183

dilatory (adj.) tending to delay, causing delay (The general’s dilatory strategy enabled the enemy to regroup.)

Question 184

dirge

Answer 184

dirge (n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery.)

Question 185

disaffected

Answer 185

disaffected (adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby’s poor behavior, the parents sent their disaffected son to a military academy to be disciplined.)

Question 186

disavow

Answer 186

disavow (v.) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize her, she disavowed any involvement in the company’s hiring scandal.)

Question 187

discomfit

Answer 187

scomfit (v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children’s sudden misery discomfited the teacher.)

Question 188

discordant

Answer 188

discordant (adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls’ sobs were a discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)

Question 189

discursive

Answer 189

discursive (adj.) rambling, lacking order (The professor’s discursive lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.)

Question 190

disparage

Answer 190

disparage (v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The saleswoman disparaged the competitor’s products to persuade her customers to buy what she was selling.)

Question 191

disparate

Answer 191

disparate (adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests, the students had disparate responses toward the novel.)

Question 192

dispel

Answer 192

dispel (v.) to drive away, scatter (She entered the office as usual on Monday, dispelling the rumor that she had been fired.)

Question 193

dissent

Answer 193

dissent 1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth grade, but the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty, the last juror voiced his dissent with the rest of the jury.)

Question 194

dissipate

Answer 194

dissipate 1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments.)

Question 195

dissuade

Answer 195

dissuade (v.) to persuade someone not to do something (Worried that he would catch a cold, she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter nights.)

Question 196

distend

Answer 196

distend (v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend.)

Question 197

dither

Answer 197

dither (v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

Question 198

divulge

Answer 198

divulge (v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press, the government finally divulged the previously unknown information.)

Question 199

docile

Answer 199

docile (adj.) easily taught or trained (She successfully taught the docile puppy several tricks.)

Question 200

dormant

Answer 200

dormant (adj.) sleeping, temporarily inactive (Though she pretended everything was fine, her anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and exploded in screams of rage after everyone had left.)

Question 201

dour

Answer 201

dour (adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their dour neighbor because the old man would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud.)

Question 202

dubious

Answer 202

dubious (adj.) doubtful, of uncertain quality (Suspicious that he was only trying to get a raise, she found his praise dubious.)

Question 203

duplicity

Answer 203

duplicity (n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground.)

Question 204

duress

Answer 204

duress (n.) hardship, threat (It was only under intense duress that he, who was normally against killing, fired his gun.)

Question 205

ebullient

Answer 205

ebullient (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

Question 206

eclectic

Answer 206

eclectic (adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

Question 207

edict

Answer 207

edict (n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

Question 208

efface

Answer 208

efface (v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

Question 209

effervescent

Answer 209

effervescent (adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)

Question 210

efficacious

Answer 210

efficacious (adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I’m still sniffling.)

Question 211

effrontery

Answer 211

effrontery (n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

Question 212

effulgent

Answer 212

effulgent (adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

Question 213

egregious

Answer 213

egregious (adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.)

Question 214

elated

Answer 214

elated (adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated.)

Question 215

elegy

Answer 215

elegy (n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

Question 216

elucidate

Answer 216

elucidate (v.) to clarify, explain (I didn’t understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

Question 217

elude

Answer 217

elude (v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the police.)

Question 218

emaciated

Answer 218

emaciated (adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

Question 219

emend

Answer 219

emend (v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will emend what I have written.)

Question 220

emollient

Answer 220

emollient (adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

Question 221

encumber

Answer 221

encumber (v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

Question 222

enervate

Answer 222

enervate (v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

Question 223

enfranchise

Answer 223

enfranchise (v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised

Question 224

engender

Answer 224

engender (v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

Question 225

enigmatic

Answer 225

enigmatic (adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

Question 226

enmity

Answer 226

enmity (n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

Question 227

ennui

Answer 227

ennui (n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui that I don’t look forward to anything, not even my birthday party.)

Question 228

enthrall

Answer 228

enthrall (v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

Question 229

enthrall

Answer 229

enthrall (v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

Question 230

ephemeral

Answer 230

ephemeral (adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she’d love me forever, but her “forever” was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

Question 231

epistolary

Answer 231

epistolary (adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,” because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day.)

Question 232

equanimity

Answer 232

equanimity (n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

Question 233

equivocal

Answer 233

equivocal (adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn’t know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

Question 234

erudite

Answer 234

erudite (adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

Question 235

eschew

Answer 235

eschew (v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

Question 236

esoteric

Answer 236

esoteric (adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students cannot understand the physicist’s esoteric theories.)

Question 237

espouse

Answer 237

espouse (v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal rights.)

Question 238

evanescent

Answer 238

evanescent (adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

Question 239

evince

Answer 239

evince (v.) to show, reveal (Christopher’s hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

Question 240

exacerbate

Answer 240

exacerbate (v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

Question 241

exasperate

Answer 241

exasperate (v.) to irritate, irk (George’s endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

Question 242

exculpate

Answer 242

exculpate (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

Question 243

excursion

Answer 243

excursion (n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

Question 244

execrable

Answer 244

execrable (adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.)

Question 245

exhort

Answer 245

exhort (v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university’s hiring policies.)

Question 246

exigent

Answer 246

exigent (adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

Question 247

exorbitant

Answer 247

exorbitant (adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

Question 248

expedient

Answer 248

expedient (adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one’s self-interest (In his bid for reelection, the governor made an expedient move by tabling all controversial legislation.)

Question 249

expiate

Answer 249

expiate (v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

Question 250

expunge

Answer 250

expunge (v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

Question 251

expurgate

Answer 251

expurgate (v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

Question 252

extant

Answer 252

extant (adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother’s extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

Question 253

extol

Answer 253

extol (v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meatloving brother.)

Question 254

extraneous

Answer 254

extraneous (adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

Question 255

extricate

Answer 255

extricate (v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

Question 256

facile

Answer 256

facile 1. (adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This game is so facile that even a four-yearold can master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care, insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facile at best; nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)

Question 257

fastidious

Answer 257

fastidious (adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

Question 258

fatuous

Answer 258

fatuous (adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous limericks.)

Question 259

fecund

Answer 259

fecund (adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

Question 260

felicitous

Answer 260

felicitous 1. (adj.) well suited, apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were felicitous and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing (I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.)

Question 261

feral

Answer 261

feral (adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

Question 262

fervent

Answer 262

fervent (adj.) ardent, passionate (The fervent protestors chained themselves to the building and shouted all night long.)

Question 263

fetid

Answer 263

fetid (adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

Question 264

fetter

Answer 264

fetter (v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)

Question 265

flaccid

Answer 265

flaccid (adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and flaccid.)

Question 266

flagrant

Answer 266

flagrant (adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge’s decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of power.)

Question 267

flout

Answer 267

flout (v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted the school’s dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

Question 268

forage

Answer 268

forage (v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

Question 269

forestall

Answer 269

forestall (v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

Question 270

forlorn

Answer 270

forlorn (adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and forlorn.)

Question 271

fractious

Answer 271

fractious (adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

Question 272

fraught

Answer 272

fraught (adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

Question 273

frenetic

Answer 273

frenetic (adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the frenetic pace of city life slows to a lull.)

Question 274

frivolous

Answer 274

frivolous (adj.) of little importance, trifling (Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

Question 275

furtive

Answer 275

furtive (adj.) secretive, sly (Jane’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

Question 276

garish

Answer 276

garish (adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in her house with a garish gold lam .)

Question 277

garrulous

Answer 277

garrulous (adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their guests can’t get a word in edgewise.)

Question 278

goad

Answer 278

goad (v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may think he’s not going to fight Billy, but Billy will goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)

Question 279

grandiloquence

Answer 279

``` grandiloquence (n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her grandiloquence would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.) ```

Question 280

gratuitous

Answer 280

gratuitous (adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every morning the guy at the donut shop gives me a gratuitous helping of ketchup packets.)

Question 281

gregarious

Answer 281

gregarious (adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you’re not gregarious, I don’t know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

Question 282

grievous

Answer 282

grievous (adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate without being sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous mistake.)

Question 283

guile

Answer 283

guile (n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because of his great guile, the politician was able to survive scandal after scandal.)

Question 284

hackneyed

Answer 284

hackneyed (adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear “I love you” so many times before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.)

Question 285

hallowed

Answer 285

hallowed (adj.) revered, consecrated (In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

Question 286

hapless

Answer 286

hapless (adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)

Question 287

harangue

Answer 287

harangue 1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher’s harangue about gum chewing in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.)

Question 288

hardy

Answer 288

hardy (adj.) robust, capable of surviving through adverse conditions (I too would have expected the plants to be dead by mid-November, but apparently they’re very hardy.)

Question 289

harrowing

Answer 289

harrowing (adj.) greatly distressing, vexing (The car crash was a harrowing experience, but I have a feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums will be even more upsetting.)

Question 290

haughty

Answer 290

haughty (adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of her costars will backfire on her someday.)

Question 291

hedonist

Answer 291

hedonist (n.) one who believes pleasure should be the primary pursuit of humans (Because he’s such a hedonist, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11 cases of wine I bought him for his birthday.)

Question 292

hegemony

Answer 292

hegemony (n.) domination over others (Britain’s hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)

Question 293

iconoclast

Answer 293

iconoclast (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a progressive agenda.)

Question 294

idiosyncratic

Answer 294

idiosyncratic (adj.) peculiar to one person; highly individualized (I know you had trouble with the last test, but because your mistakes were highly idiosyncratic, I’m going to deny your request that the class be given a new test.)

Question 295

ignominious

Answer 295

ignominious (adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was really ignominious to be kicked out of the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.)

Question 296

immutable

Answer 296

immutable (adj.) not changeable (The laws of physics are immutable and constant.)

Question 297

impassive

Answer 297

impassive (adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being so impassive; it’s healthy to cry every now and then.)

Question 298

impecunious

Answer 298

impecunious (adj.) poor (“I fear he’s too impecunious to take me out tonight,” the bratty girl whined.)

Question 299

imperative

Answer 299

imperative 1. (adj.) necessary, pressing (It is imperative that you have these folders organized by midday.) 2. (n.) a rule, command, or order (Her imperative to have the folders organized by midday was perceived as ridiculous by the others.)

Question 300

imperious

Answer 300

imperious (adj.) commanding, domineering (The imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.)

Question 301

impertinent

Answer 301

impertinent (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)

Question 302

impervious

Answer 302

impervious (adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected (Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.)

Question 303

impetuous

Answer 303

impetuous (adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda’s hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless action.)

Question 304

impinge

Answer 304

impinge 1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression (The hail impinged the roof, leaving large dents.) 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)

Question 305

implacable

Answer 305

implacable (adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandma’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)

Question 306

impregnable

Answer 306

impregnable (adj.) resistant to capture or penetration (Though the invaders used battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved impregnable and resisted all attacks.)

Question 307

impudent

Answer 307

impudent (adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young man looked the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn’t asked him.)

Question 308

impute

Answer 308

impute (v.) to ascribe, blame (The CEO imputed the many typos in the letter to his lazy secretary.)

Question 309

inane

Answer 309

inane (adj.) silly and meaningless (Some films are so inane that the psychology of the characters makes absolutely no sense.)

Question 310

incendiary

Answer 310

incendiary 1. (n.) a person who agitates (If we catch the incendiary who screamed “bomb” in the middle of the soccer match, we’re going to put him in jail.) 2. (adj.) inflammatory, causing combustion (Gas and lighter fluid are incendiary materials that should be kept out of hot storage areas.)

Question 311

incessant

Answer 311

incessant (adj.) unending (We wanted to go outside and play, but the incessant rain kept us indoors for two days.)

Question 312

inchoate

Answer 312

inchoate (adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage (The country’s government is still inchoate and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable.)

Question 313

incontrovertible

Answer 313

incontrovertible (adj.) indisputable (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the incontrovertible laws of physics.)

Question 314

incorrigible

Answer 314

incorrigible (adj.) incapable of correction, delinquent (You can buy Grandma nicotine gum all you want, but I think that after sixty-five years of smoking she’s incorrigible.)

Question 315

increment

Answer 315

increment (n.) an enlargement; the process of increasing(The workmen made the wall longer, increment by increment.)

Question 316

indefatigable

Answer 316

indefatigable (adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the indefatigable runner kept on moving.)

Question 317

indignation

Answer 317

indignation (n.) anger sparked by something unjust or unfair (I resigned from the sorority because of my indignation at its hazing of new members.)

Question 318

indolent

Answer 318

indolent (adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who can’t even pick themselves up off the couch to pour their own juice, be rewarded with a trip to the mall?)

Question 319

indomitable

Answer 319

indomitable (adj.) not capable of being conquered (To be honest, Jim, my indomitable nature means I could never take orders from anyone, and especially not from a jerk like you.)

Question 320

ineffable

Answer 320

ineffable (adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words (It is said that the experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable and can only be understood through direct encounter.)

Question 321

inexorable

Answer 321

inexorable (adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated (Although I begged for hours, Mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.)

Question 322

inextricable

Answer 322

inextricable (adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled (Unless I look at the solution manual, I have no way of solving this inextricable problem.)

Question 323

ingenious

Answer 323

ingenious (adj.) clever, resourceful (Her ingenious use of walnuts instead of the peanuts called for by the recipe was lauded by the other garden club members who found her cake delicious.)

Question 324

ingenuous

Answer 324

ingenuous (adj.) not devious; innocent and candid (He must have writers, but his speeches seem so ingenuous it’s hard to believe he’s not speaking from his own heart.)

Question 325

inimical

Answer 325

inimical (adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don’t see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.)

Question 326

injunction

Answer 326

injunction (n.) an order of official warning (After his house was toilet-papered for the fifth time, the mayor issued an injunction against anyone younger than 21 buying toilet paper.)

Question 327

innocuous

Answer 327

innocuous (adj.) harmless, inoffensive (In spite of their innocuous appearance, these mushrooms are actually quite poisonous.)

Question 328

innuendo

Answer 328

innuendo (n.) an insinuation (During the debate, the politician made several innuendos about the sexual activities of his opponent.)

Question 329

inoculate

Answer 329

inoculate (v.) to introduce a microorganism, serum, or vaccine into an organism in order to increase immunity to illness; to vaccinate (I’ve feared needles ever since I was inoculated against 37 diseases at age one; but I have also never been sick.)

Question 330

inquisitor

Answer 330

inquisitor (n.) one who inquires, especially in a hostile manner (The inquisitor was instructed to knock on every door in town in order to find the fugitive.)

Question 331

insidious

Answer 331

insidious (adj.) appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive (Lisa’s insidious chocolate cake tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!)

Question 332

insipid

Answer 332

insipid (adj.) dull, boring (The play was so insipid, I fell asleep halfway through.)

Question 333

insolent

Answer 333

insolent (adj.) rude, arrogant, overbearing (That celebrity is so insolent, making fun of his fans right to their faces.)

Question 334

insular

Answer 334

insular (adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work for the CIA must remain insular and generally only spend time with each other.)

Question 335

insurgent

Answer 335

insurgent (n.) one who rebels (The insurgent snuck into and defaced a different classroom each night until the administration agreed to meet his demands.)

Question 336

interlocutor

Answer 336

interlocutor (n.) someone who participates in a dialogue or conversation (When the officials could not come to an agreement over the correct cover of the flags, the prime minister acted as an interlocutor.)

Question 337

interminable

Answer 337

interminable (adj.) without possibility of end (The fact that biology lectures came just before lunch made them seem interminable.)

Question 338

intimation

Answer 338

intimation (n.) an indirect suggestion (Mr. Brinford’s intimation that he would soon pass away occurred when he began to discuss how to distribute his belongings among his children.)

Question 339

intractable

Answer 339

intractable (adj.) difficult to manipulate, unmanageable (There was no end in sight to the intractable conflict between the warring countries.)

Question 340

intransigent

Answer 340

intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion (The intransigent child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would bang his head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.)

Question 341

intrepid

Answer 341

intrepid (adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)

Question 342

inundate

Answer 342

inundate (v.) to flood with abundance (Because I am the star of a new sitcom, my fans are sure to inundate me with fan mail and praise.)

Question 343

inure

Answer 343

inure (v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation (Twenty years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.)

Question 344

invective

Answer 344

invective (n.) an angry verbal attack (My mother’s irrational invective against the way I dress only made me decide to dye my hair green.)

Question 345

inveterate

Answer 345

inveterate (adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I’m the first to admit that I’m an inveterate coffee drinker—I drink four cups a day.)

Question 346

irascible

Answer 346

irascible (adj.) easily angered (At the smallest provocation, my irascible cat will begin scratching and clawing.)

Question 347

iridescent

Answer 347

iridescent (adj.) showing rainbow colors (The bride’s large diamond ring was iridescent in the afternoon sun.)

Question 348

irreverence

Answer 348

irreverence (n.) disrespect (The irreverence displayed by the band that marched through the chapel disturbed many churchgoers.)

Question 349

judicious

Answer 349

judicious (adj.) having or exercising sound judgment (When the judicious king decided to compromise rather than send his army to its certain death, he was applauded.)

Question 350

juxtaposition

Answer 350

juxtaposition (n.) the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit comparison (The interior designer admired my juxtaposition of the yellow couch and green table.)

Question 351

knell

Answer 351

knell (n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing throughout our village, the funeral knell made the stormy day even more grim.)

Question 352

laconic

Answer 352

laconic (adj.) terse in speech or writing (The author’s laconic style has won him many followers who dislike wordiness.)

Question 353

languid

Answer 353

languid (adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness (In the summer months, the great heat makes people languid and lazy.)

Question 354

larceny

Answer 354

larceny (n.) obtaining another’s property by theft or trickery (When my car was not where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.)

Question 355

largess

Answer 355

largess (n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts (My boss demonstrated great largess by giving me a new car.)

Question 356

latent

Answer 356

latent (adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed (Sigmund’s dream represented his latent paranoid obsession with other people’s shoes.)

Question 357

laudatory

Answer 357

laudatory (adj.) expressing admiration or praise (Such laudatory comments are unusual from someone who is usually so reserved in his opinions.)

Question 358

lavish

Answer 358

lavish 1. (adj.) given without limits (Because they had worked very hard, the performers appreciated the critic’s lavish praise.) 2. (v.) to give without limits (Because the performers had worked hard, they deserved the praise that the critic lavished on them.)

Question 359

legerdemain

Answer 359

legerdemain (n.) deception, slight-of-hand (Smuggling the French plants through customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of legerdemain.)

Question 360

licentious

Answer 360

licentious (adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints (Marilee has always been fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians.)

Question 361

limpid

Answer 361

limpid (adj.) clear, transparent (Mr. Johnson’s limpid writing style greatly pleased readers who disliked complicated novels.)

Question 362

linchpin

Answer 362

linchpin (n.) something that holds separate parts together (The linchpin in the prosecution’s case was the hair from the defendant’s head, which was found at the scene of the crime.)

Question 363

lithe

Answer 363

lithe (adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Jae Sun’s control of her lithe body was particularly impressive.)

Question 364

litigant

Answer 364

litigant (n.) someone engaged in a lawsuit (When the litigants began screaming at each other, Judge Koch ordered them to be silent.)

Question 365

lurid

Answer 365

lurid (adj.) ghastly, sensational (Gideon’s story, in which he described a character torturing his sister’s dolls, was judged too lurid to be printed in the school’s literary magazine.)

Question 366

maelstrom

Answer 366

maelstrom (n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious maelstrom would catch their boat.)

Question 367

magnanimous

Answer 367

magnanimous (adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.)

Question 368

malediction

Answer 368

malediction (n.) a curse (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed maledictions against the policeman and the entire police department.)

Question 369

malevolent

Answer 369

malevolent (adj.) wanting harm to befall others (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.)

Question 370

manifold

Answer 370

manifold (adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of Dante’s Inferno is partly due to the fact that the work allows for manifold interpretations.)

Question 371

maudlin

Answer 371

maudlin (adj.) weakly sentimental (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually find them maudlin and shallow.)

Question 372

maverick

Answer 372

maverick (n.) an independent, nonconformist person (Andreas is a real maverick and always does things his own way.)

Question 373

mawkish

Answer 373

mawkish (adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality (Although some nineteenthcentury critics viewed Dickens’s writing as mawkish, contemporary readers have found great emotional depth in his works.)

Question 374

maxim

Answer 374

maxim (n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Miss Manners’s etiquette maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)

Question 375

meager

Answer 375

meager (adj.) deficient in size or quality (My meager portion of food did nothing to satisfy my appetite.)

Question 376

mendacious

Answer 376

mendacious (adj.) having a lying, false character (The mendacious content of the tabloid magazines is at least entertaining.)

Question 377

mercurial

Answer 377

mercurial (adj.) characterized by rapid change or temperamentality (Though he was widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the mercurial genius was impossible to live with.)

Question 378

meritorious

Answer 378

meritorious (adj.) worthy of esteem or reward (Manfred was given the congressional medal of honor for his meritorious actions.)

Question 379

modicum

Answer 379

modicum (n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss’s affair in front of the entire office.)

Question 380

modulate

Answer 380

modulate (v.) to pass from one state to another, especially in music (The composer wrote a piece that modulated between minor and major keys.)

Question 381

mollify

Answer 381

mollify (v.) to soften in temper (The police officer mollified the angry woman by giving her a warning instead of a ticket.)

Question 382

morass

Answer 382

morass (n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses (When Theresa lost her job, she could not get out of her financial morass.)

Question 383

mores

Answer 383

mores (n.) the moral attitudes and fixed customs of a group of people. (Mores change over time; many things that were tolerated in 1975 are no longer seen as being socially acceptable.)

Question 384

morose

Answer 384

morose (adj.) gloomy or sullen (Jason’s morose nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)

Question 385

multifarious

Answer 385

multifarious (adj.) having great diversity or variety (This Swiss Army knife has multifarious functions and capabilities. Among other things, it can act as a knife, a saw, a toothpick, and a slingshot.)

Question 386

mundane

Answer 386

mundane (adj.) concerned with the world rather than with heaven, commonplace (He is more concerned with the mundane issues of day-to-day life than with spiritual topics.)

Question 387

munificence

Answer 387

munificence (n.) generosity in giving (The royal family’s munificence made everyone else in their country rich.)

Question 388

mutable

Answer 388

mutable (adj.) able to change (Because fashion is so mutable, what is trendy today will look outdated in five years.)

Question 389

myriad

Answer 389

myriad (adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do Friday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.)

Question 390

nadir

Answer 390

nadir (n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the nadir came when I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)

Question 391

nascent

Answer 391

nascent (adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence (Unfortunately, my brilliant paper was only in its nascent form on the morning that it was due.)

Question 392

nebulous

Answer 392

nebulous (adj.) vaguely defined, cloudy (The transition between governments meant that who was actually in charge was a nebulous matter.)

Question 393

noisome

Answer 393

noisome (adj.) unpleasant, offensive, especially to the sense of smell (Nobody would enter the stalls until the horse’s noisome leavings were taken away.)

Question 394

nominal

Answer 394

nominal (adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following week and needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed money, Jordan sold everything for a nominal fee.)

Question 395

nondescript

Answer 395

nondescript (adj.) lacking a distinctive character (I was surprised when I saw the movie star in person because she looked nondescript.)

Question 396

noxious

Answer 396

noxious (adj.) harmful, unwholesome (Environmentalists showed that the noxious weeds were destroying the insects’ natural habitats.)

Question 397

nuance

Answer 397

nuance (n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances of the poem were not obvious to the casual reader, but the professor was able to point them out.)

Question 398

obdurate

Answer 398

obdurate (adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral influences (The obdurate old man refused to take pity on the kittens.)

Question 399

obfuscate

Answer 399

obfuscate (v.) to render incomprehensible (The detective did want to answer the newspaperman’s questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)

Question 400

oblique

Answer 400

oblique (adj.) diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward (Martin’s oblique language confused those who listened to him.)

Question 401

oblivious

Answer 401

oblivious (adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until much too late.)

Question 402

obsequious

Answer 402

obsequious (adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Mark acted like Janet’s servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.)

Question 403

obstinate

Answer 403

obstinate (adj.) not yielding easily, stubborn (The obstinate child refused to leave the store until his mother bought him a candy bar.)

Question 404

obstreperous

Answer 404

obstreperous (adj.) noisy, unruly (Billy’s obstreperous behavior prompted the librarian to ask him to leave the reading room.)

Question 405

obtuse

Answer 405

obtuse (adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political opponents warned that the prime minister’s obtuse approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.)

Question 406

odious

Answer 406

odious (adj.) instilling hatred or intense displeasure (Mark was assigned the odious task of cleaning the cat’s litter box.)

Question 407

officious

Answer 407

officious (adj.) offering one’s services when they are neither wanted nor needed (Brenda resented Allan’s officious behavior when he selected colors that might best improve her artwork.)

Question 408

ominous

Answer 408

ominous (adj.) foreboding or foreshadowing evil (The fortuneteller’s ominous words flashed through my mind as the hooded figure approached me in the alley.)

Question 409

onerous

Answer 409

onerous (adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented that the pleasures of living in a beautiful country estate no longer outweighed the onerous mortgage payments.)

Question 410

opulent

Answer 410

opulent (adj.) characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation (The opulent furnishings of the dictator’s private compound contrasted harshly with the meager accommodations of her subjects.)

Question 411

oration

Answer 411

oration (n.) a speech delivered in a formal or ceremonious manner (The prime minister was visibly shaken when the unruly parliament interrupted his oration about failed domestic policies.)

Question 412

oscillate

Answer 412

oscillate (v.) to sway from one side to the other (My uncle oscillated between buying a station wagon to transport his family and buying a sports car to satisfy his boyhood fantasies.)

Question 413

ostensible

Answer 413

ostensible (adj.) appearing as such, seemingly (Jack’s ostensible reason for driving was that airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was afraid of flying.)

Question 414

ostentatious

Answer 414

ostentatious (adj.) excessively showy, glitzy (On the palace tour, the guide focused on the ostentatious decorations and spoke little of the royal family’s history.)

Question 415

ostracism

Answer 415

ostracism (n.) exclusion from a group (Beth risked ostracism if her roommates discovered her flatulence.)

Question 416

pacific

Answer 416

``` pacific (adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor’s pacific demeanor helped the class remain calm after the experiment exploded.) ```

Question 417

palatable

Answer 417

palatable (adj.) agreeable to the taste or sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the exotic cheese was quite palatable.)

Question 418

palliate

Answer 418

palliate (v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor trusted that the new medication would palliate her patient’s discomfort.)

Question 419

pallid

Answer 419

pallid (adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy’s pallid complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.)

Question 420

panacea

Answer 420

panacea (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

Question 421

paradigm

Answer 421

paradigm (n.) an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.)

Question 422

paragon

Answer 422

paragon (n.) a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.)

Question 423

pariah

Answer 423

pariah (n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.)

Question 424

parsimony

Answer 424

parsimony (n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt’s wealth resulted from her parsimony.)

Question 425

partisan

Answer 425

partisan (n.) a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up enough partisans to overthrow the monarchy.)

Question 426

patent

Answer 426

patent (adj.) readily seen or understood, clear (The reason for Jim’s abdominal pain was made patent after the doctor performed a sonogram.)

Question 427

pathology

Answer 427

pathology (n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise nature of Brian’s pathology.)

Question 428

pathos

Answer 428

pathos (n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

Question 429

paucity

Answer 429

paucity (adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth century literature courses available at the college.)

Question 430

pejorative

Answer 430

pejorative (adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening’s headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.)

Question 431

pellucid

Answer 431

pellucid (adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The Stranger.)

Question 432

penchant

Answer 432

penchant (n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Jill’s dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)

Question 433

penitent

Answer 433

penitent (adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury’s verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)

Question 434

penultimate

Answer 434

penultimate (adj.) next to last (Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

Question 435

penurious

Answer 435

penurious (adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband’s penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

Question 436

perfidious

Answer 436

perfidious (adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.)

Question 437

perfunctory

Answer 437

perfunctory (adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

Question 438

pernicious

Answer 438

pernicious (adj.) extremely destructive or harmful (The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation’s stability.)

Question 439

perspicacity

Answer 439

perspicacity (adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.)

Question 440

pert

Answer 440

pert (adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave Sandra’s pert humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

Question 441

pertinacious

Answer 441

pertinacious (adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry’s parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.)

Question 442

perusal

Answer 442

perusal (n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month perusal of the movie script.)

Question 443

pervasive

Answer 443

pervasive (adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

Question 444

petulance

Answer 444

petulance (n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child’s petulance.)

Question 445

phlegmatic

Answer 445

phlegmatic (adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal’s phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.)

Question 446

pillage

Answer 446

pillage (v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the homes scattered along the country’s border.)

Question 447

pithy

Answer 447

pithy (adj.) concisely meaningful (My father’s long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually pithy statements.)

Question 448

pittance

Answer 448

pittance (n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

Question 449

placate

Answer 449

placate (v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man purchased a lollipop to placate his irritable son.)

Question 450

placid

Answer 450

placid (adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

Question 451

platitude

Answer 451

platitude (n.) an uninspired remark, clich  (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just platitudes.)

Question 452

plaudits

Answer 452

plaudits (n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The controversial new film received plaudits from even the harshest critics.)

Question 453

plenitude

Answer 453

plenitude (n.) an abundance (My grandmother was overwhelmed by the plenitude of tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

Question 454

plethora

Answer 454

plethora (n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

Question 455

pliable

Answer 455

pliable (adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

Question 456

poignant

Answer 456

poignant (adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us the poignant final chapter of the novel.)

Question 457

polemic

Answer 457

polemic (n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust economic system.)

Question 458

portent

Answer 458

portent (n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister’s path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

Question 459

potable

Answer 459

potable (adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of potable water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

Question 460

potentate

Answer 460

potentate (n.) one who has great power, a ruler (All the villagers stood along the town’s main road to observe as the potentate’s procession headed towards the capital.)

Question 461

pragmatic

Answer 461

pragmatic (adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a pragmatic necessity to ensure everyone’s safety.)

Question 462

precipice

Answer 462

precipice (n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place (The mountain climber hung from a precipice before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

Question 463

preclude

Answer 463

preclude (v.) to prevent (My grandfather’s large and vicious guard dog precluded anyone from entering the yard.)

Question 464

precocious

Answer 464

precocious (adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time (Derek was so academically precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

Question 465

predilection

Answer 465

predilection (n.) a preference or inclination for something (Francois has a predilection for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any condiments.)

Question 466

preponderance

Answer 466

preponderance (adj.) superiority in importance or quantity (Britain’s preponderance of naval might secured the nation’s role as a military power.)

Question 467

prepossessing

Answer 467

prepossessing (adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)

Question 468

presage

Answer 468

presage (n.) an omen (When my uncle’s old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a presage of bad weather approaching.)

Question 469

prescient

Answer 469

prescient (adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune cookie’s prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be prescient.)

Question 470

presumptuous

Answer 470

presumptuous (adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social status.)

Question 471

pretense

Answer 471

pretense (n.)an appearance or action intended to deceive (Though he actually wanted to use his parents’ car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his parents’ car under the pretense of attending a group study session.)

Question 472

primeval

Answer 472

primeval (adj.) original, ancient (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.)

Question 473

privation

Answer 473

privation (n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent drought only increased the people’s privation.)

Question 474

probity

Answer 474

probity (n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson’s immoral behavior.)

Question 475

proclivity

Answer 475

proclivity (n.) a strong inclination toward something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold’s childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.)

Question 476

profane

Answer 476

profane (adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob’s profane act of dumping frogs in the holy water in the chapel at his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.)

Question 477

profligate

Answer 477

profligate (adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The profligate gambler loved to drink, spend money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

Question 478

profuse

Answer 478

profuse (adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were profuse in their cheers for the star basketball player.)

Question 479

promulgate

Answer 479

promulgate (v.) to proclaim, make known (The film professor promulgated that both in terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery’s James Bond was superior to Roger Moore’s.)

Question 480

propagate

Answer 480

propagate (v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney’s demise propagated like wildfire throughout the world.)

Question 481

propensity

Answer 481

propensity (n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

Question 482

propitious

Answer 482

propitious (adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

Question 483

propriety

Answer 483

propriety (n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent (Erma’s old-fashioned parents believed that her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a “nice” girl.)

Question 484

prosaic

Answer 484

prosaic (adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather’s prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.)

Question 485

proscribe

Answer 485

proscribe (v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on weekends.)

Question 486

protean

Answer 486

protean (adj.)able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel’s protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

Question 487

prowess

Answer 487

prowess (n.) extraordinary ability (The musician had never taken a guitar lesson in his life, making his prowess with the instrument even more incredible.)

Question 488

prudence

Answer 488

prudence (n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

Question 489

prurient

Answer 489

prurient (adj.) eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex (David’s mother was shocked by the discovery of prurient reading material hidden beneath her son’s mattress.)

Question 490

puerile

Answer 490

puerile (adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge demanded order after the lawyer’s puerile attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

Question 491

pugnacious

Answer 491

pugnacious (adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron’s pugnacious nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.)

Question 492

pulchritude

Answer 492

pulchritude (n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare’s sonnets explore the pulchritude of a lovely young man.)

Question 493

punctilious

Answer 493

punctilious (adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

Question 494

punitive

Answer 494

punitive (adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys’ room, the punitive result is immediate expulsion from school.)

Question 495

quagmire

Answer 495

quagmire (n.) a difficult situation (We’d all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized by the Vietnam War.)

Question 496

quandary

Answer 496

quandary (n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state (Carlos found himself in a quandary: should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

Question 497

quell

Answer 497

quell (v.) to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation (The skilled leader deftly quelled the rebellion.)

Question 498

querulous

Answer 498

querulous (adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes querulous.)

Question 499

quixotic

Answer 499

quixotic (adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward entertained a quixotic desire to fall in love at first sight in a laundromat.)

Question 500

quotidian

Answer 500

quotidian (adj.) daily (Ambika’s quotidian routines include drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.)

Question 501

rail

Answer 501

rail (v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed against the injustice of the college’s tenure policy.)

Question 502

rancor

Answer 502

rancor (n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see the rancor in her eyes.)

Question 503

raze

Answer 503

raze (v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was razed to make room for the large chain store.)

Question 504

rebuke

Answer 504

rebuke (v.) to scold, criticize (When the cops showed up at Sarah’s party, they rebuked her for disturbing the peace.)

Question 505

recalcitrant

Answer 505

recalcitrant (adj.) defiant, unapologetic (Even when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.)

Question 506

recapitulate

Answer 506

recapitulate (v.) to sum up, repeat (Before the final exam, the teacher recapitulated the semester’s material.)

Question 507

reclusive

Answer 507

reclusive (adj.) solitary, shunning society (Reclusive authors such as J.D. Salinger do not relish media attention and sometimes even enjoy holing up in remote cabins in the woods.)

Question 508

rectitude

Answer 508

rectitude (n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The priest’s rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.)

Question 509

redoubtable

Answer 509

redoubtable 1. (adj.) formidable (The fortress looked redoubtable set against a stormy sky.) 2. (adj.) commanding respect (The audience greeted the redoubtable speaker with a standing ovation.)

Question 510

refract

Answer 510

refract (v.) to distort, change (The light was refracted as it passed through the prism.)

Question 511

regurgitate

Answer 511

regurgitate 1. (v.) to vomit (Feeling sick, Chuck regurgitated his dinner.) 2. (v.) to throw back exactly (Margaret rushed through the test, regurgitating all of the facts she’d memorized an hour earlier.)

Question 512

relegate

Answer 512

relegate 1. (v.) to assign to the proper place (At the astrology conference, Simon was relegated to the Scorpio room.) 2. (v.) to assign to an inferior place (After spilling a drink on a customer’s shirt, the waiter found himself relegated to the least lucrative shift.)

Question 513

remiss

Answer 513

remiss (adj.) negligent, failing to take care (The burglar gained entrance because the security guard, remiss in his duties, forgot to lock the door.)

Question 514

renunciation

Answer 514

renunciation (n.) to reject (Fiona’s renunciation of red meat resulted in weight loss, but confused those people who thought she’d been a vegetarian for years.)

Question 515

replete

Answer 515

replete (adj.) full, abundant (The unedited version was replete with naughty words.)

Question 516

repose

Answer 516

repose (v.) to rest, lie down (The cat, after eating an entire can of tuna fish, reposed in the sun and took a long nap.)

Question 517

reprehensible

Answer 517

reprehensible (adj.) deserving rebuke (Jean’s cruel and reprehensible attempt to dump her boyfriend on his birthday led to tears and recriminations.)

Question 518

reprieve

Answer 518

reprieve (n.) a temporary delay of punishment (Because the governor woke up in a particularly good mood, he granted hundreds of reprieves to prisoners.)

Question 519

reproach

Answer 519

reproach (v.) to scold, disapprove (Brian reproached the customer for failing to rewind the video he had rented.)

Question 520

reprobate

Answer 520

reprobate (adj.) evil, unprincipled (The reprobate criminal sat sneering in the cell.)

Question 521

reprove

Answer 521

reprove (v.) to scold, rebuke (Lara reproved her son for sticking each and every one of his fingers into the strawberry pie.)

Question 522

repudiate

Answer 522

repudiate (v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Kwame made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few biting words.)

Question 523

repulse

Answer 523

repulse 1. (v.) to disgust (Antisocial Annie tried to repulse people by neglecting to brush her teeth.) 2. (v.) to push back (With a deft movement of her wrist and a punch to the stomach, Lacy repulsed Jack’s attempt to kiss her.)

Question 524

requisition

Answer 524

requisition (n.) a demand for goods, usually made by an authority (During the war, the government made a requisition of supplies.)

Question 525

rescind

Answer 525

rescind (v.) to take back, repeal (The company rescinded its offer of employment after discovering that Jane’s resume was full of lies.)

Question 526

resolute

Answer 526

resolute (adj.) firm, determined (With a resolute glint in her eye, Catherine announced that she was set on going to college in New York City even though she was a little frightened of tall buildings.)

Question 527

respite

Answer 527

respite (n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain a brief respite from the smoke and noise.)

Question 527

resplendent

Answer 527

resplendent (adj.) shiny, glowing (The partygoers were resplendent in diamonds and fancy dress.)

Question 528

restitution

Answer 528

restitution (n.) restoration to the rightful owner (Many people feel that descendants of slaves should receive restitution for the sufferings of their ancestors.)

Question 529

restive

Answer 529

restive (adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient (The restive audience pelted the band with mud and yelled nasty comments.)

Question 530

revel

Answer 530

revel (v.) to enjoy intensely (Theodore reveled in his new status as Big Man on Campus.)

Question 531

rhapsodize

Answer 531

rhapsodize (v.) to engage in excessive enthusiasm (The critic rhapsodized about the movie, calling it an instant classic.)

Question 532

ribald

Answer 532

ribald (adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous (While some giggled at the ribald joke involving a parson’s daughter, most sighed and rolled their eyes.)

Question 533

rife

Answer 533

rife (adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the famous novelist’s writing was rife with spelling errors.)

Question 534

ruminate

Answer 534

ruminate (v.) to contemplate, reflect (Terry liked to ruminate while sitting on the banks of the river, staring pensively into the water.)

Question 535

ruse

Answer 535

ruse (n.) a trick (Oliver concocted an elaborate ruse for sneaking out of the house to meet his girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother the impression that he was asleep in bed.)

Question 536

saccharine

Answer 536

saccharine (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom’s saccharine manner, although intended to make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

Question 537

sacrosanct

Answer 537

sacrosanct (adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized (In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

Question 538

sagacity

Answer 538

sagacity (n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective (With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

Question 539

salient

Answer 539

salient (adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

Question 540

salve

Answer 540

salve (n.) a soothing balm (After Tony applied a salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a little better.)

Question 541

sanctimonious

Answer 541

sanctimonious (adj.) giving a hypocritical appearance of piety (The sanctimonious Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)

Question 542

sanguine

Answer 542

sanguine (adj.) optimistic, cheery (Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy cry, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”)

Question 543

satiate

Answer 543

satiate (v.) to satisfy excessively (Satiated after eating far too much turkey and stuffing, Liza lay on the couch watching football and suffering from stomach pains.)

Question 544

scathing

Answer 544

scathing (adj.) sharp, critical, hurtful (Two hours after breaking up with Russell, Suzanne thought of the perfect scathing retort to his accusations.)

Question 545

scintillating

Answer 545

scintillating (adj.) sparkling (The ice skater’s scintillating rhinestone costume nearly blinded the judges.)

Question 546

scrupulous

Answer 546

scrupulous (adj.) painstaking, careful (With scrupulous care, Sam cut a snowflake out of white paper.)

Question 547

scurrilous

Answer 547

scurrilous (adj.) vulgar, coarse (When Bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to everyone.)

Question 548

semaphore

Answer 548

semaphore (n.) a visual signal (Anne and Diana communicated with a semaphore involving candles and window shades.)

Question 549

sensuous

Answer 549

sensuous (adj.) involving sensory gratification (Paul found drinking Coke, with all the little bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very sensuous experience.)

Question 550

servile

Answer 550

servile (adj.) subservient (The servile porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before the guests.)

Question 551

sinuous

Answer 551

sinuous (adj.) lithe, serpentine (With the sinuous movements of her arms, the dancer mimicked the motion of a snake.)

Question 552

solicitous

Answer 552

solicitous (adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.)

Question 553

solipsistic

Answer 553

solipsistic (adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists (Colette’s solipsistic attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.)

Question 554

soluble

Answer 554

soluble (adj.) able to dissolve (The plot of the spy film revolved around an untraceable and water-soluble poison.)

Question 555

solvent

Answer 555

solvent 1. (n.) a substance that can dissolve other substances (Water is sometimes called the universal solvent because almost all other substances can dissolve into it.) 2. (adj.) able to pay debts (Upon receiving an unexpected check from her aunt, Annabelle found herself suddenly solvent.)

Question 556

somnolent

Answer 556

somnolent (adj.) sleepy, drowsy (The somnolent student kept falling asleep and waking up with a jerk.)

Question 557

sophomoric

Answer 557

sophomoric (adj.) immature, uninformed (The mature senior rolled her eyes at the sophomoric gross-out humor of the underclassman.)

Question 558

spurious

Answer 558

spurious (adj.) false but designed to seem plausible (Using a spurious argument, John convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.)

Question 559

staid

Answer 559

staid (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)

Question 560

stingy

Answer 560

stingy (adj.) not generous, not inclined to spend or give (Scrooge’s stingy habits did not fit with the generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)

Question 561

stolid

Answer 561

stolid (adj.) expressing little sensibility, unemotional (Charles’s stolid reaction to his wife’s funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.)

Question 562

strident

Answer 562

strident (adj.) harsh, loud (A strident man, Captain Von Trapp yelled at his daughter and made her cry.)

Question 563

stupefy

Answer 563

stupefy (v.) to astonish, make insensible (Veronica’s audacity and ungratefulness stupefied her best friend, Heather.)

Question 564

subjugate

Answer 564

subjugate (v.) to bring under control, subdue (The invading force captured and subjugated the natives of that place.)

Question 565

succinct

Answer 565

succinct (adj.) marked by compact precision (The governor’s succinct speech energized the crowd while the mayor’s rambled on and on.)

Question 566

superfluous

Answer 566

superfluous (adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Tracy had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of others was superfluous.)

Question 567

surfeit

Answer 567

surfeit (n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence (After partaking of the surfeit of tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt rather sick.)

Question 568

surmise

Answer 568

surmise (v.) to infer with little evidence (After speaking to only one of the students, the teacher was able to surmise what had caused the fight.)

Question 569

surreptitious

Answer 569

surreptitious (adj.) secretive, with caution, stealthy (The surreptitious CIA agents were able to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.)

Question 570

swarthy

Answer 570

swarthy (adj.) of dark color or complexion (When he got drunk, Robinson’s white skin became rather swarthy.)

Question 571

sycophant

Answer 571

sycophant (n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president’s closest advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)

Question 572

tacit

Answer 572

tacit (adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents’ refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of my request.)

Question 573

taciturn

Answer 573

taciturn (adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Jane never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite taciturn.)

Question 574

tangential

Answer 574

tangential (adj.) incidental, peripheral, divergent (I tried to discuss my salary, but the boss kept veering off into tangential topics.)

Question 575

tantamount

Answer 575

tantamount (adj.) equivalent in value or significance (When it comes to sports, fearing your opponent is tantamount to losing.)

Question 576

tedious

Answer 576

tedious (adj.) dull, boring (As time passed and the history professor continued to drone on and on, the lecture became increasingly tedious.)

Question 577

temerity

Answer 577

temerity (n.) audacity, recklessness (Tom and Huck entered the scary cave armed with nothing but their own temerity.)

Question 578

temperance

Answer 578

temperance (n.) moderation in action or thought (Maintaining temperance will ensure that you are able to think rationally and objectively.)

Question 579

tenable

Answer 579

tenable (adj.) able to be defended or maintained (The department heads tore down the arguments in other people’s theses, but Johari’s work proved to be quite tenable.)

Question 580

tenuous

Answer 580

tenuous (adj.) having little substance or strength (Your argument is very tenuous, since it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.)

Question 581

terrestrial

Answer 581

terrestrial (adj.) relating to the land (Elephants are terrestrial animals.)

Question 582

timorous

Answer 582

timorous (adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with the unknown, timorous Tallulah almost always broke into tears.)

Question 583

tirade

Answer 583

tirade (n.) a long speech marked by harsh or biting language (Every time Jessica was late, her boyfriend went into a long tirade about punctuality.)

Question 584

toady

Answer 584

toady (n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors (The other kids referred to the teacher’s pet as the Tenth Grade Toady.)

Question 585

tome

Answer 585

tome (n.) a large book (In college, I used to carry around an anatomy book that was the heaviest tome in my bag.)

Question 586

torpid

Answer 586

torpid (adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion (The torpid whale floated, wallowing in the water for hours.)

Question 587

torrid

Answer 587

torrid (adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate (I didn’t want to witness the neighbor’s torrid affair through the window.)

Question 588

tortuous

Answer 588

tortuous (adj.) winding (The scary thing about driving in mountains are the narrow, tortuous roads.)

Question 589

tractable

Answer 589

tractable (adj.) easily controlled (The horse was so tractable, Myra didn’t even need a bridle.)

Question 590

transmute

Answer 590

transmute (v.) to change or alter in form (Ancient alchemists believed that it was possible to transmute lead into gold.)

Question 591

travesty

Answer 591

travesty (n.) a grossly inferior imitation (According to the school newspaper’s merciless theater critic, Pacific Coast High’s rendition of the musical Oklahoma was a travesty of the original.)

Question 592

tremulous

Answer 592

tremulous (adj.) fearful (I always feel a trifle tremulous when walking through a graveyard.)

Question 593

trenchant

Answer 593

trenchant (adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut (The directions that accompanied my new cell phone were trenchant and easy to follow.)

Question 594

trepidation

Answer 594

trepidation (n.) fear, apprehension (Feeling great trepidation, Anya refused to jump into the pool because she thought she saw a shark in it.)

Question 595

trite

Answer 595

trite (adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of himself as being very learned, but everyone else thought he was trite because his observations about the world were always the same as David Letterman’s.)

Question 596

truculent

Answer 596

truculent (adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn’t really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

Question 597

truncate

Answer 597

truncate (v.) to shorten by cutting off (After winning the derby, the jockey truncated the long speech he had planned and thanked only his mom and his horse.)

Question 598

turgid

Answer 598

turgid (adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in style or language (The haughty writer did not realize how we all really felt about his turgid prose.)

Question 599

turpitude

Answer 599

turpitude (n.) depravity, moral corruption (Sir Marcus’s chivalry often contrasted with the turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.)

Question 600

ubiquitous

Answer 600

ubiquitous (adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ubiquitous here.)

Question 601

umbrage

Answer 601

umbrage (n.) resentment, offense (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult.)

Question 602

uncanny

Answer 602

uncanny (adj.) of supernatural character or origin (Luka had an uncanny ability to know exactly what other people were thinking. She also had an uncanny ability to shoot fireballs from her hands.)

Question 603

unctuous

Answer 603

unctuous (adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner (The unctuous receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she thought we might give her a big tip.)

Question 604

undulate

Answer 604

undulate (v.) to move in waves (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate to an increasing degree.)

Question 605

upbraid

Answer 605

upbraid (v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraid her again about missing the rent payment.)

Question 606

usurp

Answer 606

usurp (v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right (The rogue army general tried to usurp control of the government, but he failed because most of the army backed the legally elected president.)

Question 607

utilitarian

Answer 607

utilitarian (adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn’t hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)

Question 608

vacillate

Answer 608

vacillate (v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept vacillating between the distinct options available to us.)

Question 609

vacuous

Answer 609

vacuous (adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just penned were completely vacuous and tried to add more substance.)

Question 610

vapid

Answer 610

vapid (adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The professor’s comments about the poem were surprisingly vapid and dull.)

Question 611

variegated

Answer 611

variegated (adj.) diversified, distinctly marked (Each wire in the engineering exam was variegated by color so that the students could figure out which one was which.)

Question 612

vehemently

Answer 612

vehemently (adv.) marked by intense force or emotion (The candidate vehemently opposed cutting back on Social Security funding.)

Question 613

veneer

Answer 613

veneer (n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, façade (Thanks to her Chanel makeup, Shannen was able to maintain a veneer of perfection that hid the flaws underneath.)

Question 614

veracity

Answer 614

veracity (n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for Latifah to argue against its veracity.)

Question 615

verbose

Answer 615

verbose (adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It took the verbose teacher two hours to explain the topic, while it should have taken only fifteen minutes.)

Question 616

verdant

Answer 616

verdant (adj.) green in tint or color (The verdant leaves on the trees made the world look emerald.)

Question 617

vestige

Answer 617

vestige (n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

Question 618

vex

Answer 618

vex (v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.)

Question 619

vicarious

Answer 619

vicarious (adj.) experiencing through another (All of my lame friends learned to be social through vicarious involvement in my amazing experiences.)

Question 620

vicissitude

Answer 620

vicissitude (n.) event that occurs by chance (The vicissitudes of daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.)

Question 621

vilify

Answer 621

vilify (v.) to lower in importance, defame (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story written about President Nixon sought to vilify him and criticize his behavior.)

Question 622

virtuoso

Answer 622

virtuoso (n.) one who excels in an art; a highly skilled musical performer (Even though Lydia has studied piano for many years, she’s only average at it. She’s no virtuoso, that’s for sure.)

Question 623

viscous

Answer 623

viscous (adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.)

Question 624

vitriolic

Answer 624

vitriolic (adj.) having a caustic quality (When angry, the woman would spew vitriolic insults.)

Question 625

vituperate

Answer 625

vituperate (v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be vituperated for his unseemly behavior.)

Question 626

vivacious

Answer 626

vivacious (adj.) lively, sprightly (The vivacious clown makes all of the children laugh and giggle with his friendly antics.)

Question 627

vociferous

Answer 627

vociferous (adj.) loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his vociferous whining so I’m breaking up with him.)

Question 628

wane

Answer 628

wane (v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don’t be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

Question 629

wanton

Answer 629

wanton (adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky’s wanton demeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

Question 630

wily

Answer 630

wily (adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the strongest of the Thundercats, wily Kit and Kat were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)

Question 631

winsome

Answer 631

winsome (adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris’s winsome attitude and childish naivete.)

Question 632

wistful

Answer 632

wistful (adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat around wistful all day long.)

Question 633

wizened

Answer 633

wizened (adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha’s grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

Question 634

zenith

Answer 634

zenith (n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of hers.)

Question 635

zephyr

Answer 635

zephyr (n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the zephyrs that were blowing and cooling us, our room would’ve been unbearably hot.)